Zutalia
by DaydreamingLatinPrincess
Summary: A story about another lover of Zuko's. Not Maiko or Zutara. He falls in love with a complete diffent person named Natalia, story is told in her view, she has not seen him since the day he was banished and ends up seeing him four years later.
1. Memories

**Thank you Sarah for being my first fan and editing it in the morning before Mr. Walker yelled at us. **

**Thank you Sofia (I love you little sis! No matter how annoying...), Erica, Erin, Michelle, Stephen(stop complaining that the chapters are long) Breonah G., William G., J'Hida G., Briceon G., Na'zeer G., Grayson, Ansley, Morgan, Samaria, *I could go forever but I'm going to spare you readers the pain* for reading the first several chapters, and saying you loved the story without laughing in my face and always inspiring me with new ideas(mostly Sarah and Sofia and Erin) I LOVE YOU GUYS!**

Zutalia: Another original love story for Zuko  
Disclaimer: I do in fact own nothing but this story and plot and a character named Natalia. Natalia is my creation, not Mike and Bryan's.

Memories

It was midday, a time I wanted to be alone, by myself, with nothing disturbing me. Today, I had finally got that chance. My parents (not really my parents, foster parents) told me they were going to close earlier today for the Freedom Festival. I hugged them and made a bee line for my green bag and shot out toward the door. I could have sworn they tried to tell me something, but I left before anyone took another breath.

I was walking the streets of the upper ring of Ba Sing Se, which was too rich for my taste. I walked down the streets, watchful of the people around me. Everyone was putting up banners and decorations for the festival that was to take place tonight. I part of me wanted to help with the decorations, but a stronger part of me wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon by myself while I had the chance. I ran to the train station, quickly so I could catch the next train to the outer wall.

Soon I was at the stations, and it seemed quite busy. Everyone wanted to be with their families during this festival. It was a worldwide festival, celebrating the first year without Firelord Ozai, and the first year of peace, freedom, and love. It was a weeklong festival.

I stood in line for the train tickets. Ahead of me were a handful of people. I waited, tapping my foot against the cold, hard, stone floor, a tiny clacking sound sounding from my foot. An urge to push myself in front of the line was beginning to grow in my body. The urge was becoming stronger with every ticking second. Finally, there was one person ahead of me and I was allowed to calm down. The person left and I stood in front of the ticket lady.

I pushed a rectangular, smooth, marble stone toward her. On the stone was a golden seal. The seal had a golden Phoenix on it and around the bird were twenty tiny emeralds. The ticket lady looked up at me in annoyance.

"Ah, you again. Tell me, how many times have you been to the outer wall?" she asked me, pushing a ticket toward me and my stone. I grabbed the ticket and my stone.

"Since I was able to leave the house, alone," I said toward the woman. She rolled her eyes, aware of the answer.

"NEXT!" she yelled. I walked away. I walked toward a bench and sat on it. I took a look at my stone and the seal on it. The phoenix was in flight, surrounded by the emeralds. The Phoenix meant a new era for my family, and we decided that this should be our official seal. My foster family owned a restaurant that was well known, it was known by its fantastic food, although the restaurant was as largely popular as the richer ones. But still, quality of food counts. An old man leaned toward me.

"What is a young phoenix doing here all alone on a holiday?" the old man asked me. I turned toward him.

"She wanted to be alone, sir," I said to him, referring to myself in third person. He looked at me in confusion.

"But why?" he asked.

"Because today is a sad day for her," I said, staring off into the distance.

"May I ask why?" the old man asked. I hesitated, I wasn't used to talking to strangers but this man seemed so harmless and it's been a long time since I was able to tell someone my feelings.

"Because this is her fourth anniversary being banished from the Fire Nation, her fourth year being away from her true parents, her fourth year being away from her true home, her fourth year being away from the man she loved," I said as a tiny tear fell down my cheeks. The second I wiped away the tear was the second the train rolled in, pulling to a stop. I waited until all the boarders got off, and then got in the train. I sat in the back, near the window. I pressed my forehead against the glass, closing my eyes. I heard the two earth benders behind the train, talking a bit before they were to start driving the train again.

The warmth of the train started to surround me, not too hot like outside from the summer heat, but not too cold like a strong fall breeze. Complete warmth and I soon began to fall asleep.

"WE HAVE NOW ARRIVED AT THE OUTER WALL. PLEASE TAKE YOUR BELONGINGS AND HEAD OUTSIDE PLEASE! THANK YOU FOR RIDING TRAIN EARTH!" A woman bellowed at the head of the train. I was startled awake and had finally realized that I was here. I took my green bag and started to walk out. I was at the other station. I took my steps into the station and started to walk out the big doors and led outside. I walked a path that was made by all the people who have been here. I walked to another path that leads to greenery. I observed the houses around my path. Houses were aglow, decorated for the festival. A few families left their houses to go to the inner wall to celebrate for the festival. The other families stayed at home, spending time at the home and celebrating their own ways.

The path started to become dense and soon I was in a forest. I walked the path, and soon heard little bubbling sounds and tiny splashes. Hearing the sounds made me run, and my quick speed led me to a clear pond, that soon grew larger into a huge lake. I smiled in relief. This was my favorite place to be alone.

I stripped out of my casual clothes and placed on my bathing suit. Once ready, I dived into the lake. Underwater, the coolness of the water felt refreshing. The summer sun was blocked away in the water. I swam up, and took a breath. I looked around me; no one was in ear-shot or in eye-sight. I began to sing an old lullaby that my father sang to me when I was little.

_Catch the star,  
you have missed.  
Catch the star,  
you gave a kissed.  
Catch the star,  
the boy gave you.  
Catch the star,  
you must do.  
Catch the star,  
that showed you love.  
Catch the star,  
that gave you a dove.  
Catch the star,  
that gave you fun.  
Catch the star,  
which is a sun.  
Catch a star,  
to fall asleep  
Sleep, sleep, sleep_

I sang the lullaby over and over, lying on my back in the water. I was floating, going with the slow current. The water reminds me a bit of my home. Ember Island. I shut my eyes, and the memory drifts into my head.

I was four years old. Petite and considered 'cute'. My mother wanted to spend the day at the beach and I happily agreed with her. We were famous, my father being one of the admirals to Fire Lord Ozai. He was off at the Fire Nation palace, discussing war tactics for the war. My mother was holding my hand and leading me down toward the sea. We stopped a few yards from the water. My mother was lying on a towel, soaking in the sun's warmth. I decided to play in the sand. I grabbed my bucket and started heading toward the ocean.

With my plastic shovel, I scooped up wet blobs of sand and patted in the sand tightly in the bucket. I ran back over to my mother and starting building my castle. That was the afternoon's routine. Collect, pack in tightly, build. Soon my castle was as big as I could make it. I stood back to examine my work. It needed a little something.

"It needs some shells," a boy said beside me. I turned to look at him. His skin was a flawless pale and he had jet black hair. His hair was worn in the traditional ponytail. I looked at his hand. He was holding a bucket of seashells. I looked at him in amazement.

"Where did you get all those shells?" I said, taking a closer look at the shells. They were all different colors and hues.

"I was collecting them, for your castle," he admitted, blushing a light shade of pink. I squealed.

"Want to help put them on my castle?" I asked the boy. He nodded, smiling a big smile. We both squatted beside my castle, carefully placing the sea shells on my castle. After we used up all the shells, we decided to build a moat around the castle. He made the structure of the moat, while I collected the water. Together, we both held onto the bucket and slowly poured in the ocean water. My castle was perfect. I search for a twig, and luckily found one beside my mother. I took the twig and carefully place it on top of the castle. I smiled and squealed. The boy clapped beside me, and then frowned.

"What wrong?" I asked him.

"It doesn't feel complete," he said. Then he brightened up and placed his finger tip on top of the stick. A little spark erupted from his finger tip, which lit the stick. I gasped.

"WOW!" I said. He smiled.

"You're a Fire Bender!" I said in amazement. He nodded.

"My sister is too," he said.

"I can't bend, my daddy can bend though. He works for the Fire Lord," I said matter-of-factly.

"My daddy is the Fire Lord," he said. I gasped again.

"You're the prince?" I asked. He nodded again.

"Will you sweep me off my feet?" I asked him. He laughed at me, I laughed with him. We smiled at each other, and then looked at the castle.

"Your castle is pretty," he said to me.

"_Our _castle is pretty," I corrected him. I looked at the tiny flaming stick. He was right, our castle was pretty.

"What's your name?" I asked him.

"Zuko," he said.

"My name is Natalia," I said.

"That's a pretty name," Zuko told me.

"Thanks," I said.

The memory began to fade away. I opened my eyes and looked at the sky. The sun was beginning to set. I started to quickly swim toward my green bag. I pulled myself out of the lake and began to dry myself with my towel. I undressed myself out of my bathing suit and began to put on my undergarments and my casual clothing. I tucked my hair into a messy bun and grabbed my bag to head back to the stations.

The train was busier than this afternoon. There was more noise and more bustle. The sun was lower in the sky since I was at the lake. At dusk, the festival would begin. There was another twenty minutes before I would arrive to the inner wall, so I began to close my eyes. Another memory flowed freely in my head.

I was ten years old. I was at the ship harbor, sitting on the edge with my feet dunked in the water. I was waiting for a boat to arrive. I looked at the ocean, and saw a small red boat. I gasped. He finally came back. I stood up, waiting for the board to come down so I could run toward my best friends.

The board came down. The first to climb down was a middle-age lady. I ran up to her and hugged her. The woman hugged me back.

"Fire Lady Ursa! Welcome back!" I said. She smiled.

"No need to say Fire Lady, just call me Ursa," she said.

"I can't, mother told me to call you by your titles. She wants me to be proper with the Fire Lord and Lady," I said, releasing her.

"Well, when your mother is not around, you can just call me Ursa. Okay?" she said.

"Kk. Where are Zuko and Azula?"

"They're coming; they have to get their bags."

"Would you mind if I got on the boat and helped them?"

"Not at all!" I ran to the boat and saw two figures struggling trying to get all of their bags. I planned to sneak up behind them and scare them. Azula was a better target so I sneakily crawled to her, careful to be quiet. Azula's head shoot up and she looked at Zuko.

"Did you hear that?" she asked.

"What?" Zuko said

"Like, a shuffling noise?"

"No." I decided that this was the perfect moment. I screamed and hugged her. She jump and screamed and tried to get out of my arms. I held on tightly. I was laughing my heart out. She turned around, and saw that it was me. Once she figured out that nobody was out to kidnap her she started to laugh along… after she yelled at me about scaring her. I released her, only to be trap in Zuko's hug. He was warm as usual. I smiled. I grabbed Azula's hand and pulled her in with us. It became a group hug. I started to cry.

"Why are you _crying_?" Azula asked.

"Because I missed you guys!" I sobbed louder. Azula patted my back and Zuko squeezed tighter.

"We missed you too," Zuko said.

"AZULA! ZUKO! NATALIA! HURRY UP NOW!" Ursa yelled to us. We all released each other, and grabbed all the bags. We hurried off the boat and onto to the harbor.

"Where are you guys staying?" I asked as we were walking.

"Twins old ladies' house. They look kinda scary," Zuko said.

"They're mean?" I asked.

"No, when he means they look kinda scary, he means you don't want to see them in their bathing suit," Azula said. Zuko shivered.

"The horror!" he said. Azulaand I both laughed. We stopped at a pink house.

"This is the _house _your staying at?" I asked.

"If you think the outside is bad, wait until you see the inside," Zuko said.

"I'll take my chances," I said as we walk inside. There were a few beds and everything was pink, white, or purple with crazy seashell designs.

"Did the ocean puke?" I asked. Azula patted my shoulder

"No, but it looks like it did, right?" she said. I nodded. I dropped the bags I was carrying by the beds.

"Are you staying for dinner?" Zuko asked. I shook my head.

"No, I can't mom wants be home before dusk," I said sadly.

"How about tomorrow?" he asked,

"Sure!" I said. I hugged Azula.

"See you tomorrow, hot head!" I said. Azula scowled at me. I released her and turned my arms toward Zuko so I could envelope him into my arms as a hug. His warmth flooded my body, and his arms felt right around me. I smiled.

"See ya tomorrow! " I told him.

"Bye, Natalia," he said.

On impulse, I stood on my tippytoes and kissed his cheek. He looked startled and I blushed. And then I ran out. While I ran to my house, I felt something hit my back. I turned around but there was nothing. I put my hand to my back, searching for whatever hit me. My fingers found something that was on my shirt. It was a pin. I carefully tried to pin it loose. Finally, it collapsed in my hand. I pulled my hand to the front of my face. In my palm was a Panda Lilly. It was perfectly detailed to the curve of the petals. Studded on the flower were clear, shiny, stones that made the petals sparkle. The pin was beautiful.

I assumed that Zuko must have pinned the flower to my back when I gave him a hug. I smiled for the fiftieth time. I kissed the gemmed flower and carefully pinned it to my shirt, over my heart. I ran home, all giggles and smiles.

"WE HAVE NOW ARRIVED AT THE INNER WALL. PLEASE TAKE YOUR BELONGINGS AND HEAD OUTSIDE PLEASE! THANK YOU FOR RIDING TRAIN EARTH!" the same woman bellowed, interrupting my memory. I grabbed my bag and head out the train. The same old man was on the bench I sat earlier this afternoon. He saw me look at him and smiled and waved. Was he waiting for me?

"So, the young phoenix has returned. I thought you ran away," he said. I walked toward him.

"Sir, why are you still here?" I asked him.

"The spirits told me to stay here."

"Huh?"

"Young phoenix, they wanted me to pass you a message."

"Excuse me?" Was this man trying to play tricks on me?

"They wanted me to tell you to not lose hope and wait for the right moment to occur," he said. I looked at him like he was crazy.

"Do not doubt the words of the spirits, young phoenix," he said.

"Ok," I said and walked away. There are too many creeps here in Ba Sing se. I walked down the streets to the upper ring. The sun was just about to fade away when I arrived at the restaurant. I soon as I walked in I was pulled away my mother.

"Get ready! The festival is about to begin! Why is your hair wet? Oh never mind, just get ready!" she said pushing me into my room. I changed into a purple sundress and pulled my hair into a tighter bun. I searched my closets for purple shoes and found flats. I placed them on and ran to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror.

I saw a 17 year old girl, who had brown, curly hair with a few strands hanging loose from her bun. In the light, a few strands of her hair seem to shine gold. Her eyes were a shining emerald, framed by long eyelashes, and her lips the color of a sky pink. She looked about average height with a few curves. Her skin was a shining pearl with flushed cheeks. That girl was me. I smiled at myself then frowned. Something was incomplete. I ran to my room and search my green bag. I finally found the something I was looking for.

In my palm was a Panda Lilly, its petals were studded with clear, tiny stones. I kissed the stone flower, and pinned it over my heart. I fingered the flower. I finally felt complete and ready for the holiday. I stepped out of my room and was dragged by my mother out the front door.

_Happy fourth anniversary from being from your real home, Natalia, _I said to myself.

**A/N: I'm going to say it to you guys before you tell me: I KNOW I"M A DERANGED FANGIRL! KK? ITS KIND OF OBVIOUS! Ok, i got that out of my system. Please review guys, its a new story and Iwant to see if it might make it in the Avatar world. If you guys have any questions, post it in your reviews or PM me. Subscribers, I'm glad that you subscribe to me but it won't hurt just to say a few words and improvements ideas. Thanks for reading the story, hope you guys liked it and please review...KK? **


	2. FortuneTeller

Zutalia: Another original love story for Zuko  
Disclaimer: I do in fact own nothing but this story and plot and a character named Natalia. Natalia is my creation, not Mike and Bryan's.

Fortune-Teller

"Oh, sweetie! Look at everything!" my mother said. I was being towed to my doom. The lights were blinding me and the smells of food from all the nations were hurting my stomach. I haven't eaten since my dash for the door to go to my lake. My mother's clutch on my wrist was tight and was starting to injure me. I tugged a bit to get my mother's death grip on me. She released me and stared at my wrist, which was a bright pink.

"Sorry, hon. I'm just…just…just so excited and…" she stared to break down. My earth nation mother was just so sensitive. She wrapped her arms around me tightly.

"I thought we never be freed of the Fire-nation's grip!" she exclaimed. Of course she knew I was of the fire nation, and was the daughter of one of the many admirals that worked for the Fire Lord. But she also knew that I thought the same, that what the fire nation did to the other nations was cruel and evil. I patted her back softly.

"It's ok, we're free," I said. That only made her cries worsens. I walked her to an outside diner and asked the cashier for a napkin so my mother could dry her tears and wipe her nose. My mother gradually began to relax and had the voice to speak again.

"I'm gonna let you roam around the festival, ok? I don't want to be a crying burden on your shoulders," she told me. I nodded and she smiled. She was never a burden, but she always said she was, must have had a rough childhood.

"Just promise me to meet us at the Dancing Panda for dinner, ok? Around eight-thirty, or nine," she said.

"I promise," I said. She smiled. She knew I could take care of myself. She blew her nose again, and turned to walk away, probably to go see my earth nation father and her real children. Before she walked away she gave me a bag of gold coins in my hand and kissed my forehead.

"You're a good daughter," she said.

"And you're a good mother," I told her. She smiled at me and walked away. I weighed the coins in my hand. Maybe thirty or more gold coins. I griped the bag in my palms, might as well spend it. I walked around the festival. The green lanterns hung everywhere, enhancing my mood to become brighter. From the corner of my eyes I saw a purple tent with a line of people outside. Smoke rose from the top of the tent. I walked closer, hearing the excited murmurs. A name was mentioned about the person inside the tent, but it passed my ears. I craned my head around the people and saw a white board. It read: Aunt Wu's fortune telling bones. Sounded interesting, but not interesting enough to catch my attention. A young woman stepped out with a middle-aged lady with a few silver hairs. The young woman was all smiles and giggles. She actually twirled away from the tent. I suppressed my giggling; the young woman looked stupid with her day dreamy face and half closed eyelids with a silly smile. She looked drunk on cactus juice. A tiny laughter escaped my lips and my hands flew up to my mouth. The old woman looked at me and gasped. She walked quickly to me.

She pressed her hands on my face, looking into my eyes. She gasped again and rapidly traced invisible lines on my face. Then her hands flew to my palms to turn them over and then over again, gasping even more. She clutched my wrist, her death grip tighter than my mother. She towed me to the tent.

"I must read your fortune! I don't even want money!" she said. Since she said 'read your fortune' I suspected she was Aunt Wu. While she pulled me I saw the people who waited in the line. They glared at me, knowing that I wasn't even in line and that I had a free passage. One person was brave enough to say something.

"She wasn't even in line!" another young woman screamed. Aunt Wu just breezed past them, oblivious to them, and just kept on pulling me to the tent. We ran straight past the purple flaps of the tent that acted like fabric doors. She told me to sit on a cushion. She saw me being reluctant, just standing up, not moving an inch. I was more scared than happy. I should be happy though; I had just gotten a free pass to get my palms read, or bones…whatever she used. But what was that entire gasping and wide-eyed looking when she first saw me? That scared me. She looked at me, puzzled. I formed the words on my lips.

"Am…am…am I going to die?" I asked her. That wide-eyed look returned to her eyes.

"NO! No! Of course not! I'm sorry, child, that I scared you with all of that. I was just so excited. Its only once every two years I get to read palms like yours, such a rare sighting, sometimes only once every five years," she said, words spilling out her mouth. I released me breath, and laughed nervously.

"Sorry, I was just scared," I said. I began to slowly sink onto a cushion. Aunt Wu smiled, and then she too began to sit in her cushion. Between us was a small fire, slowly dying.

"Shouldn't you, um, give the fire some wood?" I said staring at the flames. It looked fragile.

"This fire doesn't feed on wood," she said. I gave a confused look, and she answered my unspoken question.

"It feeds on bones." I shivered, a bit scared. She pulled out a few animals bone from a velvet bag. She held her hand out, motioning for me to grab them.

"Kiss every bone," she said, pouring four bones into my hands. It was obvious she didn't tell her other customers to do this. I hesitated a bit, but thought what the heck? No one's watching me except the woman. I kissed every bone, right in the middle, and handing them back to her. She clutched the bones.

"I'm going to read their cracks," she said and tossed the bones into the almost out fire.

"Their what?' I said, but I knew she couldn't hear me over the roar of the fire. It was magnificent. How a tiny flame was near death and the moment you threw four kissed bones it erupted to a miniature volcano. The flame flew straight up, slightly scorching the top of the large tent. I gasped, joined with Aunt Wu's. Suddenly the flame subdued again to a tiny flickering flame that looked clear except for the orangeyness that surrounded all the edges. Through the flames, I saw only two bones. My guess in that the other bones burned in the flames. My eyes drew up to Aunt Wu, hoping to tell me what ever this means. But her eyes were trained on the remaining bones, reading them. I twinge of sadness overcame her face.

"What?" I asked her. She slowly looked up at me.

"You have no more hope," she said to me.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I said defensively.

"You're overcome by sadness, you feel like there's nothing to live for," she told me. In a way, she was right. I huddled my knees to me chest, wrapping my arms around them and placing my chin on one knee. I stared straight into a fire.

"There is nothing to live for. My real parents, stripped away from me. My real home, torn out of my life. My best friend, never returning. The boy I loved, gone." I felt tears escape my eyes and wiped them away angrily for betraying me. I closed my eyes shut tightly.

"And you also feel abandoned," she told me. My eyes flew up.

"I don't feel abandoned, I_ am _abandoned," I spat out to her. "He took everything away from me!" I yelled. Aunt Wu didn't ask who _he_ was.

"Sweetie, there will be times where you feel abandoned, but know there are two things that will never leave you," she said.

"And what's that?" I asked her angrily.

"Love and the spirits."

Those words seemed to tear through my anger. Slicing the air and leaving me with a thread of hope, but the thread was so fragile it could be broken as soon as someone tested it out or yanked it.

"I always loved my family, and even the family I have now, but when someone you love has to go away forever, you feel abandoned. And it's all _his _fault!" I said. The anger started to again rise to the surface.

"He never wanted to leave! But _he _said he had to!" I screamed. I buried my face in my hands letting the tears spill out. I heard a crack.

"Sweetie, I want you to look at the bones," Aunt Wu said. My sobbing began to gradually stop and I wiped the tears away, letting my blurry vision become clear. I stared at the bones and the deep cracks inlaid in them. The first bone had a deep crack running in the middle of the bone, threatening to split itself in half. On each side of the crack were weird looking C's that faced each other. In total, it looked like a broken heart. It looked like _my _broken heart.

"I believe you know what that means. Care to explain your story?" she asked me. I hesitated, like before I sat in my seat, before I talked to that old man who waited for me at the train station, just to tell me to not lose hope. I always hesitate when it comes to me and my secrets, but it not so bad to finally tell someone, to finally relax after all the passing years. I began to spill my story out.

"There was a boy. A boy with the eyes of shimmering gold and hair the color of a deep black, like burning ashes. I met him when I was four years old, near my home. I was on the beach with my mother, creating a sand castle, and then he came along and helped me built it. We spent the whole afternoon together, then the next day, and the next day. Until he had to go. He promised me he would come back next summer, and he did. But there were summers when he couldn't come, so I begged my father who was a fire nation admiral to take me to the palace so I could see him and be there with him. Of course he agreed and together we took a boat to the Palace. Oh the summers were fantastic," I said.

"Every summer we would see each other, and soon we began to see each other for the holidays too. And his sister, she was my best friend, like the sister I never had. Sometimes she would get her other best friends to play along with us. Yeah, I remember them. A pink cart wheeling girl named Ty-lee and a gloomy girl named Mai who hated me for some reason, maybe because we both had feelings for him. When we were both ten years old, was the time I noticed I actually had feelings for him. And I think he felt it too, by the way we both blushed when our hands made contact or our eyes met." I smiled, remembering that bowl of ice cream we had to share because Azula stole my bowl and Zuko offered to share some with me. When we ran to kitchen to get two spoons we were shocked to find only one. Out of the whole entire kitchen, there was only one freaking spoon. We both wondered where fifty spoons could have gone in one hour. Of course the only solution was too share the spoon and the ice cream, which was what I said. We both wouldn't have minded, if we were younger, but the age ten meant a whole different meaning to boys and girls. For girls, we matured a bit and started to like boys. For boys, they were still stupidly immature, but they care about what we think so they become nice, or worst, mean. Both of us blushed a light shade of pink, but we both wanted ice cream so we agreed to share the spoon. We alternated turns, and after we took a bite, we wiped off our spit with our shirts. It would have been a normal thing, if we weren't blushing like crazy and the occasional brushing of our fingers when we passed each other the spoon. And since we had to share the bowl, we had to sit side-by-side. Our shoulders were touching and our knees were brushing each other, and he was warm, like a little fire. After we were done with the ice cream, we didn't move. I liked his warmth, and I think he liked my presence. I slowly made one of my hands link with one of his. He didn't deny my hand, or sweep it away; he just linked it with mine. I liked the feel of his hands, hard but having a soft gentleness to them. I turned to look at him and he smiled at me and I smiled back.

"The summer when we were both 14, I came to his home. We both hanged out in the gardens. We shared old and new secrets, and then he told me one day he was going to the war tactics meeting tomorrow. At first I stared at him, thinking he wasn't serious, but his eyes held the truth. I told him that a stupid thing to do and he was taken aback, said that was like insulting his father. I told him I don't hate his father, just the meeting. I told him that that meeting was what always kept my father away from me and my mother, and was now going to keep him away from me. He took my hand and said nothing was going to keep him away from me. He said that as prince of his nation he should attend the meeting now that he was fourteen. I placed my forehead on his and said ok. Then he pulled my chin up and kissed me. The kiss took me by surprise and it was surprising that my lips knew exactly what to do. The kiss broke my anger and was surprisingly sweet." I touched my lips, remembering the feel of the kiss. That was my first and last kiss since.

"I remembered I asked his uncle to look after Zuko, but at the time he didn't know what I meant, and I figured out Zuko must've not told him yet and quickly asked for his famous Jasmine Tea. Sipping it slowly through the hallways, I saw him dressed up for the meeting. He looked funny. He saw me giggling and choking over my tea. He laughed at me while I laughed at him. I kissed his cheek and wished him luck. He hugged me and walked on."

"Hold a second; you're saying you were in love with the Fire Lord's son? And he was in love with you?" Aunt Wu asked me in surprise and recognition. I nodded.

"Yeah, I thought everything would be okay, but I was wrong. I waited outside the doors of the place where the tactic meetings were held. I sipped my tea slowly. Being outside the doors, I heard a few occasional voices, I even heard my father's voice among the generals and admirals. And then I heard a general's voice suggesting a cruel idea about the soldiers. And then I heard Zuko's voice among the voices, saying how that was wrong. I whimpered. I knew what this was coming too. He spoke out of turn. When my father came back to Ember Island he would explain the meetings rule. You don't speak until you're given permission by the Fire Lord. And I'm certain I didn't hear the Fire Lord's voice to give permission. More words were spoken, but I wasn't able to catch them. The only words I caught were 'Agni Kai'. I yelped and dropped my tea. Suddenly, Zuko tore through the doors, steaming. He didn't even notice me sitting by the doors. I called after him a few times and ran to him. I grabbed his shoulders and turned him around to face me. I got in his face and yelled what happened. He told me he was going to do an Agni Kai against a general, told me he spoke out of turn. Maybe once my father told me that if you speak out of turn, it's not for who you interrupted but the Fire Lord himself. I asked him if he was sure he was fighting the general, he told me he was certain, and that he was certain he could bring him down. I bit my lips and nodded. I was so scared." I huddled back into my position where my knees bended to my chest and my arms wrapped around them. I began to speak again.

"Of course, he was wrong. And he had to fight his father. Zuko wouldn't fight his father, and his father called him a coward. And then he burned the left part of his face. It was terrible. His uncle, his sister, and me where sitting in the front row. I glanced at Azula and saw her smiling at her brother's pain. I slapped her and yelled at her, but she couldn't hear my voice over Zuko's screams. I couldn't take it anymore and ran out, breathing too hard. I remember crying outside in the garden where Zuko kissed me two days before this. I heard footsteps and glanced up to see his uncle. Tears were spilling from his eyes but he didn't make the little gaspy sounds I made. He sat beside me wrapping his arms around me. Uncle Iroh was the closest thing I could consider as my grandfather. Then he told me that Zuko was banished for his cowardness, and he himself was banished for defending his nephew. I made a large wailing sound that sounded like when a cart runs over an animal's tail or runs over it completely. The wailing sounded like a tortured animal. I was a tortured animal. The wailing continued for the longest time, and then I fell asleep in the hallways. Through the windows, the light peeked in and startled me awake. The last thing I remembered was my animalistic wail and crying and Zuko being burned and banished along with his uncle. I remembered running through the hallways to the ship harbor. I ran, and my feet started to sore and I was a super long way to the harbor and that I had to climb down a mountain to reach the harbor. They were probably already gone. Then a carriage pulled by me and recognized that I was an Admirals daughter. He asked if I wanted a ride and I told him to go as fast as he could to the ship harbor, and he did. I gripped my seat, steadying myself so I didn't fall over. I started to smell the salt of the ocean and urged the man to go faster. I saw two figures along with a crew boarding a small ship. When he got close enough I yelled for the man to stop. I hopped of the carriage and ran to the boat. The ship was starting to sail. When I got to the harbor I kicked off my shoes and dived in the water. I yelled for the boat to stop. When I though it wasn't going to stop, the boat creaked and dropped down a latter and an anchor. I swam faster to the rope. I got to the rope and climb up, panting, my wet curls slicked across my forehead and neck. When I reached the top I was offered a towel which I declined and yelled for Zuko. He came out. Everything about him was grim, his face, his eyes, his clenched fist, his bandages across his left eye. When he saw me, his mood lifted a bit but he drew his hand over his face, embarrassed but most of all, terrified, hurt, angry. And I couldn't help him. I ran to him and threw myself on him. I hugged him tightly and started to cry. I told him not to leave me, to take me with him. He shook my shoulders and looked into my blotchy eyes. He told me he would never take me, that he wouldn't endanger the only thing he had left. I told him to don't leave and to stay here with me, but he said he would only return when he had the Avatar. I remember that I told him that the Avatar has been dead since we were born, that no one has seen him since our great-grandfathers' time. He said he would look for the Avatar no matter what. Then he hugged me tightly, resting the right part of his head, the unburned part, on my wet hair. I cried and he lifted my chin up, kissing me for the final time. Finally we had both let go and I was forced to dive back into the water. Instead of swimming back to the harbor, I stayed afloat in the water, promising myself that I wouldn't return until the ship left my sight. I watched the boat shrink until it was the size of my thumb in the distance. When it finally left my sight, I cried again, my salt tears dripping into the salt ocean. I dunked into the water and swam to the harbor." More tears ran down my face.

"You poor thing! You must have been torn between grief and anger. " Aunt Wu said.

"I didn't feel anger until I started to walk up the mountain. I knew this was all Fire lord's Ozai fault. No father would cast away his son. When I arrived at the Palace, still dripping wet, I went to the kitchen and grabbed a knife. This was stupid and silly. A knife can do no damage against a fire bender's power, but still, holding the knife gave me power. I walked up to the Ozai's quarters and walked right past the guards. I began to confront him about his evil deeds."

The memory was alive in my head. I walked right up to him, I didn't bow or nothing. The flames around him were hot and cut me off from walking closer.

"How could you do this?" I yelled at him.

"How can you banish your son?" I screamed at him.

"He was weak. I do not want a weak son, nor do I want a coward." He told me. I screamed at him and threw my knife. He was unprepared, knowing the knife would slice through the flames, but the knife struck itself into the wood that Ozai was sitting on. He stood up, the flames engulfing everywhere.

"How dare you defy you lord!" he boomed at me.

"A real lord doesn't cast away his son!" I boomed back.

"What you did was cruel and evil to the bone! Who the hell do you think you are for casting away a fourteen year old boy with the task of having to capture the Avatar! He's been dead since my great-grandfathers' time!"

"Which means I will never see him again," he said, in a relieved voice. All my anger erupted from me. I walked straight threw the flames and reached for my opponents neck. But he was fast and grabbed mine. I clawed at his hands and gasped for air. I felt my feet beginning to lift off the floor. He put his face in front of mine.

"Pathetic, defending a traitor," he said. That set me off. I gathered all my spit and spat in his face. He threw me to the floor. I gasped for air, feeling like I wasn't getting enough. I clawed for air.

"You are a disgrace! You are banished!" he yelled, wiping off my spit from his mouth, nose, and eyes. I crawled to the exit, gasping for a breath. The guards saw me and helped me up. I grabbed them and stared into their eyes, creating fear in them.

"One day, the fire nation will fall," I said. I got to my feet and walked away. I told my real parents about the banishment and I've never seen so many tears. I remember the departing boat, the one that led to Ba Sing Se. The land that was going to become my new home.

I returned to Aunt Wu.

"And what happened at the confrontation?" she asked me.

"I was banished for defending traitor."

She clicked her tongue. I heard another crack. I looked at the other bone. This one was identical to the first bone but it didn't have the split in the middle, just a full heart in the middle. She smiled at the bone.

"What does that mean?" I asked her.

"It means love will fill in your broken heart. To not lose hope and wait for the right moment to occur," she said. The words rung in my ears. That's the same thing the old man said at the train station. I stood up and thanked her. She smiled at me. As I was about to walk away she said something.

"Be sure to wear that pin on the right days at your new job," she called after me. New job? What new job?

"Ok," I said. What is it with old people and their metaphors? I walked out and still saw the line of waiting people. Did they stay here for the entire hour I was with her? They glared at me. Man, they want their palms and bones read so badly. I still stood in the doorway. Shouldn't the first day of the Freedom Festival make me happy? Because all its doing is making me depressed. Maybe because I'm not making an effort to be happy. I need to try. I remembered that loopy girl who left when I went it. I opened my arms to the world

"Ladies and gentleman, brought to you live, a reenactment of that loopy girl earlier!" I said. I clasped my hands to together bringing them to my cheek and closed my eyes halfway. I smiled sweetly to the audience and twirled my way out of there. While doing that, I giggled uncontrollably. When I left my audience I returned to my normal self. All of the sudden my mouth felt dry and I wanted something to drink. I searched around for a tea shop and finally saw one that looked promising. I pulled open the clear doors and heard some bells ringing. A gruffy old man with a round belly pouring tea to his customers began to greet me.

"Welcome! Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon!"


	3. Hired

Zutalia: Another original love story for Zuko  
Disclaimer: I do in fact own nothing but this story and plot and a character named Natalia. Natalia is my creation, not Mike and Bryan's.

Hired

I smiled and waved to the old man. Of course I didn't know him, but he seemed vaguely familiar. I walked up to the counter, behind a man the age of seventeen or eighteen. I craned my neck to see what they were doing.

"Please, Sir! I want to work for you!" the guy said. The owner lifted an eyebrow.

"You do?" the owner said.

"Yes!" the guy cried, eager to work for this round man.

"Well then, you must pass a test?"

"A test?"

"Yes, give me a moment." The old man disappeared from the counter and behind long green drapes. The bell rang again, a girl my age protruding from the doors. She looked exactly like the guy in front of me, brown hair and brown eyes with milky skin. She walked up to the guy in front of me.

"Have you been hired?" she asked him.

"Not yet, he said I had to pass a test," he said.

"Well then, you better pass that test! Because we all know what will happen if you don't!" she exclaimed. She looked behind her, finally realizing she had skipped a customer, me. I gave her a smug look. I was here first. She returned the look.

"Sorry, but my brother here is about to become hired, so keep yourself out of the way, because once he is a manager, I'll be sure you won't be walking through those doors. So you might want wipe off that hideous smug look on your face " she said and spun on her heels. I fumed, just as I was about to smack her head, the old man reappeared. He came out with four hot tea cups. I felt the confusion on the siblings faces.

"What is he supposed to do?" the girl asked a twinge bit annoyed that her brother had to pass _this _kind of test.

"Try to figure out the flavor," the old man said.

"Sounds easy enough," the guy said, grabbing hold of a tea cup. He blew softly and sipped a bit. The girl pursed her lips.

"I swear if you fail I'm going to kill you," the girl said. The guy's forehead crinkled in confusion and deep thought. How could it be so hard? Finding a flavor? I could practically smell it. A mango twist with a few lemon drops and leaves and a dash of strawberries thrown in with a few spearmint leaves. I sniffed again. I was definitely right. Uncle Iroh used to make this all the time when Zuko and I were kids. In fact, he was the one who create this concoction… and he never shared the recipe, only with Zuko and I. Something was messed up…

"Um…tropical bananas and papaya?" The guy suggested. The old man shook his head.

"I'm sorry," he said. The girl began to yell at her brother.

"How can you mess up something so simple?" she yelled and snatched a cup, taking a large gulp. Her own face creased with worry and confusion as she gripped her cup tighter, threatening to break it.

"It's…jasmine…right?" she said, unsure. A smile crept up his face. The girl turned around and threw a smug look at me again; thinking she knew she got it right.

"You mustn't race for the prize, when you don't know what obstacles will be thrown your way," the old man said. The girl broke out of her smugness and turned back around to face the owner.

"Wait…what you are trying to say is, I'm wrong?" she asked him, completely puzzled.

"In the kindest way," he said. The girl's jaw dropped. She screamed, infuriated.

"Being cocky and smug doesn't give you a prize, I can't believe you got this wrong," I said to the girl. She spun around to see me, angry as hell. She fiercely grabbed another cup of tea and held in my face.

"If you're so perfect, why don't you try and see if you get it?" she asked me, brown eyes on glare mode.

"I never said I was perfect," I told her. I was the person here with the most imperfections. She thrust the cup in my face farther, threatening to crush my nose with it.

"Drink. It." She told me, still angry. I snatched the cup from her and took a small gulp. I was right. It was the exact same flavor as when I drunk it when I was a kid. A tear threaten to spill from my eyes. I set the tea cup back onto its tray. The owner looked at me.

"I-I-I don't know why but…this tea is just so familiar," I said. The owner looked at me weirdly. I wanted to leave, to run outside and cry all over again. When Zuko and I were twelve we used to feed turtle ducks bread crumbs and sip this tea. Once, a baby turtle-duckling crawled out of the pond and tried to sip my tea. Of course, it spilled the cup over, letting a wave of tea spill over its head. Its tiny head became sticky and it licked its bill. It quacked, and we guessed that it must have liked the taste, for it crawled over to Zuko's tea cup to try and get more. We spent that whole afternoon, trying to run from the ducklings and its mother. They all wanted Zuko's tea.

As I tried to make a run for it, the girl gripped my wrist.

"You're not leaving until you tell us what flavor it is. And don't worry, we already know your answer is going to be wrong," she said.

I stared at the old man.

"It's a mango taste with a few lemon drops and leaves and strawberries thrown with spearmint leaves," I rushed out all in one breath. A single tear dropped from my eyes and I used my free hand that wasn't gripped by the girl to wipe it away as it began to take its course down the curves of my cheek.

"HA! She wrong, isn't she?" she said to the owner, looking for support. The old man looked at me, hands shaking. I swear if he was holding a pot or a cup, he would have dropped it.

"She's, she's…she's right," he said, extremely surprised.

"WHAT!" the girl exclaimed, loosening her grip on me. I suddenly became very aware that the tea shop was full and all the customers were looking at us. I ripped my hand from her monstrous grip, rubbing my wrist.

"But, that girl can't be right!" she said. The guy put his hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Meilin, come on, let's go. I didn't make the job, she did. Come on, I don't want to get in trouble."

"I never wanted the job! Just a freaking cup of tea!" I yelled at the three of them. Meilin got in my face.

"Well you got the job. Now deny it, before I break your fragile bones," she growled. I started to fume up inside. She wanted me to deny a job I never asked for. I wanted to do the exact opposite of what she wanted me to do. I took a breath, calming myself down like the way Iroh show me to years ago. I walked past her and stared into the middle-age man's eyes.

"Sir, with all respect, I would like to work for your tea shop," I told him. The man grinned.

"It would be an honor to have a young girl with wonderful taste buds to work for me," he said. I nodded with a smile of my own.

"What the hell?" Meilin said to me. She grabbed my shoulders and pinned me to the ground, my body creating a heavy _thud. _The air was knocked out of me. I pulled my knees in to my chest and slammed them forward, hitting the girl's chest, pushing her off me. I gasped for a breath and pulled myself up, bending over as soon as my feet were on the ground. I had the worst pain on my shoulders and mid-section. Everyone was looking at us. Meilin screamed in frustration, running toward me to probably hurt me more. I was unprepared, bracing for the worst. I closed my eyes.

"You little tramp! You're gonna pay!" she yelled at me. I squeezed my eyes tighter. Suddenly, I felt hotness, a fire barrier, separating me from the murderous girl. I opened my eyes, seeing the old man fire bend a wall between me and Meilin.

"Enough!" He said to the Meilin.

"You shall not harm my employee." He said, his barrier softly glowing to nothing. The girl screamed again in frustration and decided to smack the old man instead of me. As she arched her hand to hit the old man, the man stood in a ready position. When Meilin's fist was about to make contact with the man's fist, he caught it, and threw her across the floor. She slid across the floor, hitting a wall. The impact sounded like it hurt her, but not enough to where any real damage could be done. She got the air knocked out of her. She gasped. The man walked toward her, leaning down to her level.

"Maybe you should consider returning here and hurting my employee," he said, and returned to his counter, pouring tea in a cup. I walked to her and offered my hand. She smacked it away.

"I'm trying to help!" I said.

"I don't want your help!" she yelled at me. She turned toward her brother, who was standing by the counter like a fool.

"Let's go," she said toward him, and walked out of the tea shop, limping a bit. Her brother raced after her, throwing me a sorry look before he left. I stared after them, and walked to the counter. The man offered me a cup of steaming tea.

"My specialty," he said. I took the cup, a light waterfall of jasmine tea flowing in my mouth.

"It's delicious," I said. The man stared at me.

"What?" I said.

"Earlier you were crying because of my mystery tea. Why?" he ask. I looked down, and focused on my tea, swirling slowly in the cup.

"I've tasted it before," I said. I heard him scoff.

"Impossible, I created it," he said. I yanked my head up, glaring at him.

"That's a lie. You're a thief and a liar. My friend's uncle made it when I was a child. You cannot claim something that isn't yours." The man was taken aback.

"Young lady, I created it for my nephew and his lady friend when they were children. I am no thief. The person who gave it to you is a thief and a liar." He said.

I shook my head, disagreeing with him, but no longer wanting to argue.

"When do I start my job?" I asked him. He squinted at me, examining closely, as if I was a long lost friend.

"Tomorrow morning," he said. I nodded.

"My name is—"

"Don't tell me what your name is! I want to find out, solve it! I feel as if I have met you before. You look vaguely familiar," he said interrupting me. I gave him a questioning look.

"Oookkkk, well what will we call each other then?" I asked him. The old man stroked his long, gray beard.

"Moshi, my nephew gave me that name when we were fugitives, running from the fire-nation," he said.

"You too, huh? Well, that makes the both of us; I was banished from the fire-nation the day my friend was banished, banished for defending a traitor. You can call me… NiNi, I guess," I said. The man nodded, as if collecting an old memory.

"NiNi, that sounds familiar," he said. I drank the last bit of my tea and handed him back the cup. I began to freak out.

"Um, sir, what time it?" I said him. The man stared at a night dial.

"I believe close to eight forty," he said. I panicked.

"Eight forty! Dammit! Um, I have to leave, see you tomorrow morning!" I called after him, pushing myself out of the door. Before I left, I saw him wave. And right when he turned around to go into the kitchen, I saw him mouthing what seemed to be: _NiNi, you have returned, _to seemed weird, but it was only a guess.

I ran down the glowing streets, racing to the Dancing Panda so I could meet my earth nation family.

I busted through the glass doors of the Dancing Panda, seeing a small family positioned at a table with an extra chair. I race toward them.

"Sorry, I'm late! I was caught up in the moment! Something happened over by the Jasmine Dragon, and I have so much to tell you," I said, pulling up a chair so I could sit down by a petite young girl and an older girl. The little girl stared at me, and then smiled a wide smile.

"Ooooh, mami, NiNi met a boy!" the little petite girl exclaimed. My mom shot her head up from the menu.

"What?" she said, staring at me, wide-eyed.

"I didn't meet a boy! I...um... got a...um…new job," I told her.

"Huh? You mean you don't like working at our restaurant?" my father asked.

"I do!" I said. I began to spill my story, omitting the fortune-telling. I told them that I joined only to annoy this stupid girl, and that it worked. I also omitted why my ankles and shoulders hurt so much, seeming that they were my results out of the fight. My mother squealed at the end of my story.

"I cannot believe that you're working for mister–"

"Don't say him name! We're kinda trying to figure each other's name out," I said.

"Oh, ok, well anyway, I can't believe you're working for the Jasmine Dragon. Oh the tea there is absolutely delicious!"My mother exclaimed. Our server came out with all of our food. I thanked him and dug in. I glanced down, trying to avoid all eyes at my table. I saw my Panda Lilly pin glimmer in the lighting, sparkling beautifully. I fingered my pin, my fingers tracing the delicate curves of the petals. Aunt Wu told me to wear the pin on the right days of my new job. What would be the right day? Tomorrow? No, maybe not, didn't want to lose it in an unfamiliar place, Maybe I should wear it on Tuesday, when I know the place a lot better, more familiar of my surroundings. And I surely didn't want to drop it in the tea.

Why did Moshi seem so familiar? Why did he make the same kind of tea Iroh made when I was young? How does Moshi know me? Why did Moshi protect a stranger? So many questions, unanswered.

"What happened to your sundress?" Rou asked me, the little petite girl pointed at the hem of my dress. I glanced down. It had a scorched mark, maybe from the fire, and a torn, maybe from the fight.

"Burned and torn," I said.

"Just like my heart," I quietly mumbled.

A/n: Again, thank you Sofia, Erin, Erica, and Sarah! Thank for the helping of the editing of this chapter, even though what you might have wrote was a little note on the paper and a scratch here and there. Erin...thank you for the little note you wrote on my binder, i belive it says: Erin was here. And then a little smiley face. Sarah...thank you for the note you wrote on my binder today: Sarah wasnt't here...she was in Japan. Were you really? I thought i saw you in 1st, 3rd, 5th and 6th period. Oh, maybe your evil twin was there today...yup I'm sure. She ate my asian fruit candy, the betelpalm. Yummy...why does everyone in Inc. hate it! Seriously! I mean Sarah's evil twin ate it and likes it, Erica ate and liked it, Erin..sorta of kinda ate it, and then throws it away in the trash can...ok so not a lot of people like it but so what! I liked it! and it was good! Hey, you live anywhere in America, go to your local Asian Market and get yourself a plastic container of betelpalm! Buy a can and save the whales! If not whales...think about kitties and the children. REVIEW! Or my imaginary chihuahua will find you and get into your dreams and turn them into nightmares and when you awaken and pull on a pair of jeans in the morning my evil chihuahua will bite you and make you bleed internally...pretty dark stuff, huh? He's watching you. Hey! Evil Chihuahua! Go attack that girl who just didn't review!...I can almost hear the screaming. Mwah hahahaha! Review peeps! I lurve you guys!

*NiNi*


	4. First Day

Zutalia: Another original love story for Zuko  
Disclaimer: I do in fact own nothing but this story and plot and a character named Natalia. Natalia is my creation, not Mike and Bryan's.

First day

The sunlight peeked in through my windows and into my yellow room, slashing through my sheets, creating brightness through them that I couldn't stand. I pulled the sheets closer to my body and tucked my head under my pillow, shielding my eyes from the harmful morning light. I muttered something unintelligent about the sun.

I felt something poke into my side, like a long finger sticking itself into the side of my belly. I tried to smack it away, but instead felt empty air. I felt someone or something slowly lift the pillow off my head, only to see me squinting against the sunlight and burrowing my face further into my bed. It poked my cheek.

"Wakey, wakey," the voice whispered. The voice belongs to my Earth Nation sister, Sophina. I pinched the corner of my pillow and pulled the pillow down, hiding everything from my view. She poked my side again, more fierce this time.

"Mami wants me to wake you up for your job," the nine year old said. I grumbled, trying to burrow myself deeper into the covers. I heard the little girl giggle evilly and stalked out of the room, her footsteps sounding away from my room. I relaxed my tense muscles and forced myself to fall back asleep, not a care in the world for my new job. When my eyelids began to flutter a minute later, the footsteps return, with an addition of a sloshing sound, creating a nice, soft sound of rhythm. The footsteps ended at the foot of my bed, the sloshing calming down. Sloshing? What makes sloshing sounds? Oh yeah, a large amount of water. I shut my eyelids.

Hold on, water?

WATER!

A wave of cold freezing water splashed despicably onto my body. I shot myself out of bed, my hair slicked across my cheeks, forehead, and neck. Goosebumps flecked my skin everywhere. I jumped out of my beds, my hands running up and down my arms. My teeth chattered at a usual speed. My eyes searched for Sophina, who was already laughing childishly, her brown, wavy hair trailing behind her as she raced downstairs toward the restaurant. I ran toward my bathroom, searching for a towel and turning on the shower on _hot._

I ripped off my soaked, cold pajamas and went into my shower, scrubbing my body and washing my hair.

I crawled out of the shower and wrapped a towel around myself. I looked at the mirror. Wet, damped curls fell carelessly around me to surround by face. I looked tired. I turned around to look at my shoulders. Bruises the size of lollipops freckled my shoulders, from the slam down that girl gave me in the shop, looking like dots waiting to be connected. I towel dried my hair and pulled it back into a ponytail. I walked back into my room and placed on some casual clothing and green flats. I walked down the stairs, searching for little Sophina.

I found her at a table, eating breakfast. When she saw me she choked a bit on her food, and ran to her mom.

"Mami! I only did what was necessary!" she wailed. My mom was surprised, eggs still burning on the skillet.

"What did you do Sophina?" she asked her.

"Slashed cold water on me to wake up," I told her.

"SOPHINA!" she exclaimed, making sure her daughter knew she was in serious trouble.

"You were the only who told me to wake her up!"

"I didn't mean pour freezing water on her! Apologize at once Sophina!" my mom exclaimed. Sophina turned to face me.

"I'm sorry," she said, mumbling.

"It's okay, just don't do it again," I told her.

"KK," she replies.

"Sweetie, here's breakfast. Sophina, go wake up your daddy and your little sister, Rou," mom said as she handed me a plate with platypus-bear eggs with strips of bacon. I thanked her and started to eat quickly at a table as Sophina ran upstairs. I finished and placed the plate in the sink. I walked to our restaurant door and picked up my green bag with my belongings. Before I walked out of the door, I was sure to switch the sign from closed to open for our customers. I walked outside and breathed in the morning scent of the upper ring of Ba Sing Se. The merchants were out, trying to sell ridiculous stuff at an unreasonable price. The lanterns were still hanging from last night, and the streets were festive. Kids played everywhere, throwing glitter on each other. The glitter shimmered green, red, white, and blue, the obvious colors of the nations.

Then a little girl walked up to me, around the age of five. Her hand grabbed a fistful of glitter, but she didn't throw it at me, she just kept her hand in there, as if waiting for permission or me to bend down. I smiled at her and nodded, dropping to my knees and bending my head. I looked at her, now eye level. She smiled and giggled, taking her hand out of the glitter box. Excess glitter tumbles down, giving the streets a shimmering look. I bent my head down slightly as the little girl sprinkled glitter over my hair and smothered the glitter onto my cheeks and softly dappled glitter onto my eyelids. When she was done I pulled my face up and she giggled and smiled like crazy. The little girl looked just like me, soft curly brown hair, curling behind a ponytail, her cheeks glowing like pink roses. The only thing different were the eyes, which were a startling gold, flecked with green. They were the opposite of mine, which was green flecked with gold. I smiled back, patting her head and rising to my feet. Suddenly, she clutched my hand. I looked down and she looked a bit sad, but her smile was still there, shining like sunlight.

"You look like my missing sister," she said and ran off with a few of the other kids which were older than her and a few that were her age. _You look like my missing sister; _the words rang through my head. I felt sorry for the little girl; it's hard to lose a love one, especially at such a young age.

I blinked out of my sadness, and ran to the tea shop, already so late. Before I stepped inside, I shook my head, trying shake most of the glitter off, not wanting any glitter to fall in the tea. I stepped inside; the place looked empty and barren. A lonely teapot sat on the counter. I stepped behind the counter and went into the kitchen. There were two stoves with eight teapots and a hundred cups, it seemed.

"Moshi!" I called out. Suddenly I heard a loud snoring. I can't believe it. Here I am, worried that I'll be late, and he's here sleeping off the day. I sighed and bounded up the stairs, which were hidden behind the kitchen. Upstairs, there were three bedrooms. Why would he need three bedrooms? I brushed away the question and placed my ear to the doors, listening for Moshi. When I went to the third bedroom, I heard the snoring, which was usually loud. My hand went to the knob. As I twisted, my hand stopped. I tried again. Ug! It was locked! I went to the alternative. I placed my fist on the door softly and took a breath. Suddenly I began to pound and scream.

"MOSHI! WAKE UP!" I yelled. The snoring went to a sudden stop and there was a loud thud on the ground which made the floor vibrate a bit. A sleepy voice spoke.

"I'll be out in a few minutes," he said, yawning in between words. I sighed.

"Ok," I said, a bit annoyed.

"Go ahead and open the shop!" he said through the door.

"Fine," I said and bounded down the steps to the front door. I switched the closed sign to open and stepped behind the counter. I pulled up a seat against the counter and rested my elbows, hands under my chin. The bell rung and a young woman stepped out, looking surprised.

"I cannot believe it! He actually opened his shop early!" the woman said. Then turned to me. "And he hired someone! I heard that test was impossible to pass," she said. I smiled at her.

"Only for the ones who don't have the tongues," I said. The girl stepped up to me, her hand sticking out toward me.

"I'm Jin, I'm acquainted with—"

"Don't say his name!" I shrieked. She gave me a confused look.

"It's this game were doing. We both feel as if we know each other from a time ago, so we're trying to figure it out, the names I mean," I said. She nodded at me with a weird smile. I took her hand and shook it. I turned to look behind me and saw Moshi nowhere in sight.

"My name's Natalia, but call me NiNi when Moshi's around," I told her. She raised her eyebrows and then squint her eyes at me.

"Huh, that name sounds does familiar. Maybe one of my exes mentioned it, or your boss. Huh, what a puzzler," she said. I smiled at her.

"Hey, um, do you want to order something?" I asked her. Jin's eyes brighten.

"Sure, can I get the Jasmine Tea, please?" She asked.

"Sure, give me a few minutes," I said and disappeared behind the beaded curtain. I switched on the stove and place a teapot onto the stove, pouring water into the pot. While the water was heating, I checked the cupboards for the dried leaves that flavored the water. Loud steps pounded on the stairs. I turned around, seeing Moshi in uniform. His apron hug loosely around his neck and the strings that were supposed to be tied around his waist was hanging by his side. I pointed at his apron.

"Moshi, fix your apron, you want to make an impression on your customers," I said, pulling the container containing the Jasmine leaves out of the cupboard.

"I can't reach," he said. This made me laugh. I dropped the leaves inside a tea cup and walked to Moshi. I grabbed the end of the strings and pulled them behind him. I tied the knot until it was a firm knot. I walked away from him and walked to the stove, which was where the pot was screaming. I poured the hot contents into the cup with the leaves and dropped in a spoonful of sugar. I swirled the tea softly and placed it on a tray. I walked out into the counter and through the beads. I handed Jin her tea.

"Thanks!" she said and placed two gold pieces onto the counter. I tucked the money into the register.

"You're welcome," I said.

"Wow, this is good tea," she said

"Thanks, it's been a while since I made tea; I only make it for my family. They own the restaurant down the street, the one called the Golden Phoenix," I said.

"Oh my spirits! You guys have the best food there! You know, I might remember you from there," she said.

"You might remember me, I'm usually the waitress or the cook," I said.

"Well, the seafood you make there is awesome."

"Thanks."

Jin sipped a bit of her tea and I brushed a bit of hair out of my face. Behind me I heard a shuffle and clatter. I turned around to see Moshi, who was all smiles.

"Hello Jin!" he said. Jin smiled back.

"Hi—"

"Moshi, call me Moshi."

Jin suppressed a giggle.

"The name your nephew gave you when you guys were refuges?" Jin asked, now giggling.

"Ah, yes," he said, blushing a bit. I giggled along with Jin. Jin looked outside and her face turned to horror.

"What is it?" I asked her, confused. 

"I'm going to be late!" she said, shoving her empty tea cup into my palms.

"For what?"

"My date! My boyfriend's expecting me at your restaurant! See you later, NiNi! It was nice meeting you!" she exclaimed and ran out the door.

"She's a nice girl, I think you two might get along well," Moshi said. I nodded.

"Yeah, she's really sweet." I said, heading into the kitchen to place the cups into the sink.

"She dated my nephew once, so we're on good terms," he said. I nodded, smiling. Jin was really nice, and it would be nice if I had a friend my age in this nation.

"What happened?" I asked. Moshi smiled, as if he was telling a secret.

"She kissed him, he kissed her back, it felt wrong to him so he ran out of the there."

"Aw! Poor, Jin! What a jerk! Why did he run?"

"He told me it was because there was another, and he was waiting for her arrival, he fell in love as a child and can't let her go. I think he is still holding onto her, his memories of her I mean."

"Aw! Now I'm sorry for your nephew! Is he okay?"

"He is fine, actually, he is coming here tomorrow, to help with the shop and hang around his family."

"Well that's good. Is he a better employee than me?" I asked sarcastically. Moshi broke into a smile.

"To tell you the truth, he's got the taste bud of a grain of sand. His teas are terrible. The only one he can make is the once you tasted to get this job. But the only reason he can make that tea is because of the girl. That was the girl's favorite tea; he made it for her all the time. Whenever she came for the holidays or the summer, he would race to me and asked me to help him prepare the tea." Moshi laughed softly. I remembered how Zuko acted the same way. We loved that tea and it was always prepared for me whenever I visited. Was there a connection with this? No, there can't be.

"He was really in love with her, wasn't he?" I asked him.

"Yes, and if they still with each other, they could have lived a happy tale."

"A happy tale," I mimicked softly to myself. If I went with Zuko, maybe we could have had a chance at a happy ending. I miss him.

The rest of the morning flew past me. So many customers came and ordered. Most of them ordered the Jasmine tea considering it was popular. Many of them congratulated me for making the job. The clock ticked away and finally it reached two o' clock. I was beginning to twitch. I wanted to be at my lake, wanted to swim in it, to be free under the crystal water.

"Your mother warned me about this," Moshi said.

"About what?" When did my mother talk to him? Did she come early this morning or late last night?

"That you leave in the middle of the day, and that no one knows where you go. NiNi, where do you go?" he asked me. I scoffed at him. The lake was my secret spot, my sanctuary. No one is going to pry the information from me.

"I leave the Inner wall," I said, smirking at him. That was all the information he was going to pulled from me.

"Well, rush hour is long gone. If you wish, you may leave anytime after one thirty," he said, smiling at me. At first, I was surprised, and then gratitude fills my body, making me bubbly. I ran up to him and threw my arms around the old man. He was surprised at first and began to relax. I let go of him and raced toward the counter. Behind the counter was my bag. I grabbed its handle and flew out the door. I waved to him before I walked out.

I ran toward the train stations, thinking that if I ran fast enough, I could make the next train. When I arrived, there were more people than last time. I guess more people are coming for the holiday. I quickly bought my ticket, seeing the ticket lady roll her eyes at me when she saw me. I walked around the station, looking for the seat I sat at last time, the one with the old man. When I spotted the seat, he was there. I smiled and sat beside him.

"Ah! The young phoenix has returned! Tell me, have you risen from your ashes yet, your sorrow I mean?" he asked me. I smiled brighter.

"Not completely yet, I'm almost there though. Today I've met someone new, a friend. Her name is Jin, and she is really sweet. I think we'll be great friends," I said to him.

"Wonderful! Sometimes when a heart is broken, the only healers that can mend it are the friends you have. They are the greatest healers," he said, nodding.

"Sir, what did you mean yesterday? About hope and spirits?" I asked him, biting my lips and head tilted.

"That, young phoenix, is what you must find out for yourself," he said, smirking at me. I groaned in mock frustration.

"What is it with old people and their metaphors?" I asked, not expecting an answer. The old man laughed.

"I believe your train has arrived," he said. I looked at the tracks. It was here and I raced for the train, boarding it. When I was on and had a seat, I had the strangest thought: What if Moshi is Uncle Iroh?

The water in the lake was shimmering, still and motionless. Already in my bathing suit, I dived into the water. I swam to the middle of the lake. The whole area was surrounded by trees. No one can find me here. I turned on my back, floating in the water, my hands and legs steering me without a thought. I began to sing an old song I heard Uncle Iroh sing in the hallways of the Fire Nation palace.

_Summer, spring, _

_Winter, fall, _

_Four seasons_

_Of love_

_Summer, spring, _

_Winter, fall, _

_Four seasons_

_Of love_

_Four seasons_

_Of love_

The song wasn't long, there were only three verses. Once where Zuko and I were ten years old, we found a vent that led to Iroh's room. Through the vent, we heard him singing. I remember that we echoed him through the vents, as if we were the spirits, drawn to his song. I remember hearing his scream when he heard us. We laughed so loudly that Iroh knew it was us and raced to where we were and scalded us, saying we were naughty kids. But of course he couldn't hide that smile, the one where we knew he wasn't really mad at us.

The time went by so quickly and I saw the sun setting. I swam to the banks, quickly dressing back into my uniform and pinned my wet hair into a bun. As soon as I was good to go, I ran to the station.

The streets were filled with people and goods and the lanterns which held a soft glowing light in the colors of green, red, blue, and white. More glitter was on the ground since this morning, and I could have sworn I saw the little girl again, running around the corner with a group of children her age and older.

I felt a bit of cool water drip down my back from my messy, wet hair. I placed my hand on the back of my neck and swiped it away, shivering a bit from the water. My hand wrapped around the cool metal of the Jasmine Dragon's door handle. I gave the door a tug and walked inside.

It was less busy than this afternoon. Iroh was at the counter talking to Jin. When Iroh peered up to look at me, Jin followed his gaze and then smiled at me.

"Hi, NiNi!" Jin cried out to me.

"Hi, Jin!" I yelled back. I walked to the counter beside Jin. Beside me, Jin picked a strand of my hair, looking at me with a confused look.

"Why is your hair wet?" she asked me. I tugged my strand of hair back and smiled.

"No particular reason," I said with a smirk at Iroh. He waved his arms in the air.

"This one goes where no one can find her!" he said, smiling a bit too. I rolled my eyes with extreme exaggerations, like I did as a child.

"Sometimes I just want peace," I said. Jin patted my back.

"Don't we all, don't we all," she said. Iroh coughed and looked at Jin weirdly. He coughed again.

"Jin wanted to ask you something," he said, fake coughing again into his palm. Jin lit up like a firework.

"Yeah! I was wondering if you wanted to hang around the festival. Like now, before it gets to dark and crowded," she said. It was my turn to light up like a firework. I smiled brightly.

"Yeah! Sure! Iroh can you take me off the night shift for tonight—!" I clamped my hand around my lips. I called Moshi 'Iroh'. There was no reason behind it either, it just slipped put. I looked at him closely, he looked a lot Iroh, and maybe he was Iroh, but I didn't have any evidence, only faint memories. I took a glance at Jin, and her eyes widened a bit. I looked at Moshi or Iroh or whoever he is, he seemed unnerved but smiled a bit.

"I believe you mean 'Moshi.' And yes, you can spend the rest of your working hours with Jin," he said. I forgot all about my mistake and smiled at him. Jin grabbed my hand and towed me out the glass door.

"Bye, Moshi!" we both yelled out.

With my bag in my one hand and my other gripped by Jin's, I was pulled to The Market. Jin let go of my hand and ran to a table with jewelry. I ran after her. We both stopped at a table, covered in a satin blanket with the jewelry all over it. Jin picked up a necklace with a silver chain and a green pendant. One that caught my eye was a necklace with a silver chain and a red pendant. The pendant looked like a heart caught on fire. I picked it up and rubbed my finger against it, tracing my fingers against the cool stone.

"That's about ten gold coins," the woman behind the table said. I heard Jin choked when she heard the price.

"For both necklaces? Or what?" I asked her. She pointed to Jin's necklace, then mine.

"The one she's holding is five gold coins and yours is ten. Yours was forged in the Fire Nation's mines," she said. I looked down again at the stone. It was from my homeland.

"Your necklace, miss, is a rare and special stone, one that protects you from evil spirits. It said that the Inferno Stone, the pendant, can even let you be more in contact with the spirits," she said, looking at the stone. I looked at the stone, something seem to move inside of it, something alive. The stone seemed to _be _alive. I put the necklace back onto the table and fished out five gold coins from the satchel of coins my Earth Nation mother gave me yesterday. I placed the five coins into the woman's hand. She gave me a look of confusion.

"It's for my friend," I said, with a shy smile at her and Jin. Jin smiled widely and then fished for money in her hand, pulling out ten gold coins from her purse. She handed the money to the woman and jerked her chin at me.

"For my friend,"she said. I lit up like a full moon. I gently picked up the necklace and wrapped it around my neck, connecting the clasps. Jin did the same wither her necklace and we walked away together. That whole night at the festival we laughed and ate dinner. Sometime after that, her boyfriend found us and it was the same guy with the rude sister who tried to beat me up. He was actually kinda sweet, nicer than his sister. I agreed to give him a chance, after laughing about something embarrassing he told us about his sister. He was a nice guy and they deserved each other. He was a guy who noticed his girlfriend, he even commented about her new necklace. Seeing this, this lively and beautiful couple, made me miss Zuko, a lot.


	5. Reunion

Zutalia: Another original love story for Zuko  
Disclaimer: I do in fact own nothing but this story and plot and a character named Natalia. Natalia is my creation, not Mike and Bryan's.

Reunion

This morning, there were two fingers poking me. I snickered a bit and popped out of the sheets of my bed, scaring the two girls. The petite girl, Rou, screamed, and Sophina yelped. I laughed at them and scooped them up into a bear hug. Rou was a four year old with blonde hair and brown eyes and adored hugs, and Sophina was a nine year old with brown wavy hair and brown eyes who was a little more resistant.

I couldn't help it; I was just in such a good mood. I released the girls and they ran into my closet. I hopped out of my bed and raced after them. In my closet, Rou was looking through my dresses.

"Pick one for me," I said. Rou giggled and picked a bright red dress. She walked to me and handed it to me. Sophina pouted a bit, feeling a bit left out. I walked up to her and tapped her nose.

"You wanna pick out my jewelry for me?" I asked her. Sophina smiled and nodded, racing to my bathroom. Rou and I followed Sophina to the bathroom. In her hand was my Panda Lily pin and the red necklace I bought last night. I took the jewelry and the dress and scooted the girls out of the bathroom. I took a hot, steamy, shower and got dress and added the jewelry.

* * *

As I bounded down the stairs to the restaurant, I headed to the kitchen. As I walked in, Sophina and Rou gasped.

"She looks like a princess!" Rou exclaimed. I giggled and gave a twirled. The red dress was actually a sun dress that stopped mid-calf. The pin was above my heart and the necklace with the red pendant fell to the middle of my chest. My hair was flowing out, curling and curling a bit past my shoulders and pulled back by a silver headband, the outfit completed by my red flats.

"Yes, Rou, she does. Natalia come here and eat your breakfast," my earth nation mother said. I sat down between the two girls and ate bacon and eggs. We all quickly ate and they followed me to the restaurant door. I turned the sign to _open _andwalked out the door, giving the girls a hug before I left. Before I left, Sophina handed me my green tote bag. I kissed her cheek and left.

* * *

It was the third day of the festival and the feeling in the air was still buzzing wildly. The kids again were on the street, throwing glitter everywhere and on everyone. The strange thing was that the little girl I saw yesterday was standing there, where we meet yesterday. I walked up to her and kneeled down to her level.

"Hey! Were you waiting for me?" I asked her. She nodded her tiny head and smiled at me. She had a little box full of glitter and her hand was in it. I was guessing she wanted to decorate me with glitter. Again. I laughed and bent my head down. She sprinkled glitter into my hair and dabbed some on my eyelids and cheeks. She giggled and ran away. She was a strange girl, but a nice sweet one. I left the street and jogged to the Jasmine Dragon. I tugged on the glass door and it swung open. As I stepped inside I raced for the counter, leaving my bag on its shelf. I raced up the steps, skipping every other one. I went to Moshi room and pounded on the door. Like yesterday, there was yawn and a thud on the ground.

"Wake up! I'm opening up the restaurant!" I yelled through the doors and bounded down the steps jumping the last few and landing on my feet at the end of the stairs. I switched on the stove, placed a pot on the stove with water, and got out the tea leaves. Beside the stairs was a hook with an apron with a dragon surrounded by jasmine petals. I picked it up and placed it on. I went to the front of the restaurant and switched the _closed _sign to _open. _When I turned around, there was a jiggling and Jin at the front of the door. She stepped in and I stepped behind the counter.

"The Special, please," she said.

"Kk," I said. I placed in the mango, lemon and spearmint leaves. I poured the water into four cups. One for Jin, Iroh and me, and one for another customer if he or she wanted it.

I came out with the tray and handed a cup to Jin and grabbed one for me. We clinked our cups and laughed. Sipping our tea and talking, we discussed last night events and Jin's boyfriend's rude sister. Suddenly we heard loud steps pound through the stairs. Moshi emerged from the beaded curtain and beside me. I took a look at him. His hair and beard was scraggly and he had on his uniform. The only thing he was missing was his apron. I sighed.

"Moshi, where's your apron?" I asked him. He looked down and sighed.

"NiNi, it's in my room, would you mind getting it for me?" he asked me.

"No prob," I told him.

"See ya later, NiNi," Jin said, waving to me and leaving out the front door.

"Bye, Jin," I said and waved to her and pounded up the stairs.

I went to Moshi's room and peered inside. The room was bright. I walked inside and saw his apron on a hook beside his night stand. I began to walk to the hook and pull the apron off of it. With the apron in my hand, I got ready to step out and go back downstairs, but something caught my attention. There was a picture of four children sitting together drinking tea. The picture was drawn, but the artist was so talented you could see every detail of any of the children. There were two boys, one who was almost adult looking and a boy who looked about ten. Beside the ten year old boy was two girls, both the same age. But the thing that caught my attention was the ten year old boy and girl. They were sitting beside each other, caught in mid-laughter, hand interlocked, and knees touching. In the hand that wasn't holding each other, they were holding tea. The boy looked like Zuko, creamy skin, and long, jet black hair with golden eyes. The girl beside him had the brownest, curliest hair and emerald eyes with golden flecks. It looked like me and Zuko when we were children. I placed a hand over my mouth.

It was Zuko and me.

I remembered there was an artist in the castle who wanted to do a portrait of Zuko, Azula, me and Zuko's cousin.

The picture was also labeled. It had the date, year, month and the names of the children. The name that most strucked me was my own name, scrawled out next to Zuko's. Then there was another sentence that read:

_To: Iroh _

_From: Natalia and Zuko_

That was the moment I sprinted out of the room.

Moshi is Iroh.

And this whole, entire time, he knew who I was, he just wanted me to figure who he was and if I remembered him and Zuko.

When I was in the middle of the flight of stairs I called out to Iroh, still calling him Moshi with his apron clutched in my hands tightly.

"Moshi! There's tea for you on the counter!" When I jumped off the last steps, I stopped and heard a voice, an unfamiliar, lovely, deep voice. It sounded almost like a whisper.

"Hi, Uncle Iroh! I missed you!" the mesmerizing voice said. I froze where I stood. The voice spoke again and I located it in front of the counter, which was out of view from where I was.

"I can't find her, she's gone. She's gone. I told her to stay, and she's gone," the voice said again. Iroh began to speak.

"She's not gone," he whispered softly to him.

"Yes, she is. I looked everywhere in the fire nation for her and she's nowhere to be found. I even put up posters of her as missing, and even asked Aang and Suki and Sokka and Katara and Toph to look for her during their travels."

"You have been looking in the wrong place."

"Uncle! This is no time for your metaphors!"

"Nephew, she is here, in Ba Sing Se. Closer than you can ever imagine." Iroh said nephew which means…

Zuko's here.

He's here, only a few yards away.

I stepped into the kitchen, still hidden by the beaded curtain blocking me from them. I took a few nervous steps, breathing in and out through my nose, careful not to make any noises at all.

"What? She here? How do you know? Where is she?" he exclaimed.

"Uncle, listen, where have you seen her? You'd think she'd be over at Ember Island after the war was over and my father was no longer in control! Why was she not in Ember Island?

"She has a family here also, in Ba Sing Se. Did you really expect her to just drop everything she had here and return back to the Fire Nation after you're father was defeated?"

I heard a pause.

"Uncle, I have to find her. I have to," he chanted. In my mind, I could see him shaking his head back and forth.

"I believe her Earth Nation family owns a shop near here I believe. What was it called…Golden Feathers? No, was it the…Golden Peacock? No. no, that's not it. Ack, what was it called again?" Iroh asked, racking through his brain to find out what my parent's restaurant was called. I heard clothes ruffle, Zuko straightening up.

"The Golden Phoenix?" He suggested quickly.

Iroh snapped his fingers.

"Yes! That's the one!" he said excitedly.

Why didn't Iroh just tell him that I was here? The only thing separating us a beaded curtain that barely concealed me that I had to make sure I was in a blind spot?

"I passed it on my way here! Maybe I could run into it and request for her and…"

He left his words hanging.

He had no idea what he would say to me. I heard footsteps retreat.

"Nephew! Wait! Before you leave, how about a nice cup of tea?" he asked. I heard a groan.

"Uncle, I have to speak to her!"

"She will always be there, Nephew. I might disappear in a few years. Please, a cup of tea with me?"

Another groaned escaped out of Zuko's lips, but he treaded back to Iroh. I watched his hands reach for the cup of tea I left on the tray earlier. He gulped it down quickly and was ready to leave when Iroh turned his head sideways as he yelled to the beaded curtain.

"Would you mind bringing us two cups of Jasmine tea?" he asked. I didn't say anything but follow his order. I didn't want to say anything that could give me away.

"Why are you talking to the curtain?" Zuko asked.

"Oh, I have someone working for me now. Quite a hard worker and beautiful, too," Iroh said, laughter ringing in his voice. I blushed to myself. Zuko laughed, momentarily forgetting about me.

"Is she old as you and interested in my uncle?" Zuko joked. I pressed my lip, pouring the hot water into the tea cups, putting leaves in each of them, waiting for the taste to seep into the water. I clenched my hands and unclenched my hands, feeling my heart do the same. I felt my breath quiver.

"No, she is as young as life and interested in you," Iroh said. I sucked in a breath. I could feel Zuko lose the humor on his face.

"I'm only interested in Natalia, you know that," Zuko said seriously. I put sugar into the tea and gripped the tray with both hands and let Iroh's apron hang over my arm. I could see Iroh's back through the beads.

"I know," he said, smiling probably.

I took a deep breath and pretended nothing had happened since I went upstairs. I took a few steps out of the kitchen and into the restaurant.

"Moshi! Here's your tea and I found your apron-!" When I said the: '_Moshi! I found your apron,_' partI was still in the kitchen. But when I was ending my sentence, I stepped out into the naked air. When I saw Zuko, I gasped.

He looked so different since the last time I've seen him. It had only been four years but that gives anyone, especially him, enough time to change. His hair was still jet black like the night sky, goldenness still filling up his eyes and his burn scar over his left eye, stretching to his ear. His body looked lean, muscular and his face tight. His ponytail was cut off, replaced by long bangs and hair that fell in front of his face and all around him. His eyes widen like full moons, but something was hidden behind those eyes, betrayal and anger and sadness. I couldn't bear it, the look in his eyes. Zuko stepped up a few feet toward the counter. He was still in front of the counter, the counter acting like a barrier between us. I dropped the tray onto the counter with a light clatter.

I took Iroh's apron from my arm and gripped it in hands, holding it so tightly my knuckles began to turn white. Zuko placed both his palms onto the counter, the soft slapping noise making me wince. Zuko lifted one of his hands to caress my face. When his warm fingers brushed against my face I winced, tensed up, and ducked under the counter. I was quickly looking for my green bag. When I saw it, I snatched for it and jumped right up, looking at Zuko. He was still looking at me, in deep confusion. His eyes floated to my chest, where the pin was above my heart. He reached out to stroke it but I stepped back. He looked back at my eyes. So much sadness and anger drifted and swam in them.

"You still have it," he said, pointing to my pin. I didn't say anything, just look down and watch a few tears spill to the floor. I turned to Iroh.

"Iroh, I'm taking the rest of the day off," I said, shoving his apron into his hands. I ran to the door, I couldn't bear seeing him. He made my heart ache and pound wildly. Zuko tried to catch me as I fled but I spun out of his arms. He tripped from my movements and fell into the table behind me. There was a clatter, but I didn't look behind me. I yanked the glass door open and ran in the streets to the train station. At some point I realized my shoes were making me run slower so I kicked them off, picked them up and stuff them in my bag. I ran barefooted in the street.

When I was at the station, I placed on my shoes, bought my ticket, and sat by the old man. The old man looked at me, surprised.

"Young phoenix! You look as if you seen a monster!" he said. I laughed hysterically. I must have seen crazy with my fake laughter and wild eyes.

"Worst than that! I've seen the man I've loved for the first time in four years!" I exclaimed.

"So? You should be happy!"

"So? Happy? What am I supposed to do? Run up to him and kiss him? You should have seen his eyes! He _hates_ me!" More tears fell from my eyes, seeping into my red sundress.

"Phoenix, you are not listening, listen closely to what the spirits are trying to tell you," he said. At that moment the train arrived and I hopped on, no longer wanting to hear another man talk to me about Zuko.

When the train began to shudder to movement, I looked out my window to look at the old man. There, where I was sitting a few moments ago, was Zuko. Zuko saw me and his eyes flashed, almost happiness. But I knew better. The look in his eyes when he saw me at the tea shop would haunt me forever. The sadness I caused him when I left the Fire Nation was too much for him.

_Too_ much for me.

The old man scowled at Zuko and Zuko laughed, I think. Zuko ran toward the train, of course he knew it wouldn't stop so he decided to hop aboard. He ran and took a long jump, landing near the two earth benders who were driving the train from behind. The benders looked surprised, but knowing that Zuko was the Fire Lord, they allowed it, _of course_. He sat between them, and since he was still outside, the wind blew at his hair. I couldn't help but laugh. Zuko caught me looking at him and he smiled. His smile dared me to melt inside. I turned my laughing smile into a sad thin line and turned around and I was beginning to take my course of action to hide away and escape from Zuko.

* * *

When the train erupted to a stop I fled from my seat and out the doors of the train first. No Zuko was in sight and I began to take my path to my lake in the forest. I hadn't heard Zuko or seen him. I supposed that was a good thing. When I saw my lake, I kneeled at the bank taking deep breaths and thanking the spirits for my sanctuary. I opened my bag and pulled out the bathing suit. I ripped off my sundress, the shoes, jewelry, headband and everything else and popped into the bathing suit. Once it was on, I dove into the lake, graceful as a Koi fish. I stayed at the bottom until I had no breath of air left. I looked all around me and saw no Zuko. I smiled to myself, not believing that he lost me on my way to the lake. He was so close to catching me.

What was wrong with me? Why didn't I run to him and embrace him, crying into his arms and begging to take me back? Why did I run?

I knew why. I was scared.

And jealous.

How many girls did he kiss after me? One? Five? Fifteen?

He kissed Jin and that turned into anger. But I remembered mine and Iroh's conversation about the couple.

_"She dated my nephew once, so we're on good terms," he said._

_"What happened?" I asked. Moshi smiled, as if he was telling a secret._

_"She kissed him, he kissed her back, it felt wrong to him so he ran out of the there."_

_"Aw! Poor, Jin! What a jerk! Why did he run?"_

_"He told me it was because there was another, and he was waiting for her arrival, he fell in love as a child and can't let her go. I think he is still holding onto her, his memories of her I mean."_

Zuko had held on to his memories of me.

And I had held onto him.

I couldn't think of Zuko anymore. It was crushing me and my heart. I had to stop thinking about him.

I began to float on my back and kick softly with my feet. I sang an old song Iroh had sang when his son, Lu-tin, died. His son was his soldier boy and Zuko was my warrior.

Or at least, was.

_Leaves from the vine_

_Falling so slow_

_Like fragile, tiny shells_

_Drifting in the foam_

_Little, soldier boy come marching home_

"_Little soldier boy, come marching home," _another voice sang with me, entering on the last line of the song. I flipped over in the water and choked a bit as water entered my mouth with my sudden turning. I looked for the other singer that joined me without my permission.

Zuko was standing on the other side of the lake.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for not posting in such a long time! My bad! I hoped you guys liked this chapter! Review! And I'm sorry that this chappie was so short, but I'm going to cheer you guys up in the next one. I pinky swear! Review! Haha, I would have posted sooner but my rough draft that was printed out got lost somewhere in my house and it had all my markings to change and insert and fix and without it, I couldn't remember anything and I had to do everything from memory and scratch. And I edited the paper like last year :( Please review, loves! Mwah!

~NiNi


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